Oasis of the Seas Bars Woman After Asking If She's Pregnamt

[spookwife]

Sorry, I'm siding with the woman on this one. Those of you who say she should have gotten a doctor's note...

 

1) How many of you knew RCI's policy before this story came out?

2) How many of you have been asked/heard other cruisers asked if they might possibly be pregnant when checking in?

 

If RCI is going to enforce pregnant women having a doctor's note (regardless of how far along they are), then they need to ask EVERY woman at check in if they might be pregnant.

 

I have never been pregnant and never will be and I knew the policy. and yes I have been asked and yes I have heard others standing next to me be asked.

 

it is ALWAYS the onus of the passenger to know all policies, it is not the cruise line or Travel agent's responsibility to tell you to read the fine print.

[slyster]

I am very curious as to why they asked this woman if she was pregnant. I never get asked if I could possibly be pregnant. Make it a standard question in the online check in. That way it's brought to their attention that they MAY need a doctors note. I don't think I would have known I would need to have a doctors note to cruise if I was pregnant.

 

I certainly understand why it may be important for a cruise line to be aware though.

[evitacruiser]

Asking someone if they could possibly be pregnant is strange phrasing. I imagine many women of childbearing could reply that it was "possible".....or, at least not "impossible".

[Starry Eyes]

Sorry, I'm siding with the woman on this one. Those of you who say she should have gotten a doctor's note...

 

1) How many of you knew RCI's policy before this story came out?

2) How many of you have been asked/heard other cruisers asked if they might possibly be pregnant when checking in?

 

If RCI is going to enforce pregnant women having a doctor's note (regardless of how far along they are), then they need to ask EVERY woman at check in if they might be pregnant.

1) Yes, I knew the policy. And other cruiselines policies, though I have never "needed" to know. I see the policy regularly on documents form cruisline, on travel agent documents, on website. It is not hidden.

2) One time (cannot recall which cruise line or ship) the pregnancy question was on the health form at check in. I thought it was reasonable to ask all females to say yes or no on paper, rather than potentially embarassing or upsetting somebody with the verbal question. Otherwise, I have not been asked; my body habitus has never drawn that question in any setting.

[Big_G]

I am very curious as to why they asked this woman if she was pregnant. I never get asked if I could possibly be pregnant. Make it a standard question in the online check in. That way it's brought to their attention that they MAY need a doctors note. I don't think I would have known I would need to have a doctors note to cruise if I was pregnant.

 

I certainly understand why it may be important for a cruise line to be aware though.

 

I'm curious as to whether they actually asked her but we're only getting one side of the story. It would be a bizarre question to ask someone that exhibited no signs and even more bizarre answer based on a home pregnancy test. :confused:

[trev71]

Royal was totally in the wrong there. I think they should have gave them a heck of a lot more than 250$ credit.

 

 

So a lesson for all of us. If you are just newly pregeant and you have not seen a dr to confrim and and if they ask you if your pregeant you say no.

Edited July 24, 2014 by trev71

[steamboats]

The ship´s doctors can´t do anything in case a pregnant woman is getting problems onboard as the hospitals are not able to cope with any neonatal problems.

 

The ship´s doctors are no gynecologists and therefore not the right persons to state whether a pregnant woman is fit for travel.

 

A high risk pregnancy can be stated at an early stage as well. Here in Germany you´re regarded automatically as high risk pregnancy when you´re 35 years and older. The woman had already two pregnancies (at least by the number of her sons). So her history of pregnancies could state a high risk if there have been any problems before. Same about former miscarriages (and unfortunately this pregnancy ended in a miscarriage).

 

steamboats

[FLACRUISER99]

I'm not even sure the agents at check in even work for directly RCI as I once was talking to one and she told me she checked in a ship from a different cruise line yesterday (Can't remember which one) and in wasn't an RCL company. I think they may work for the Port and RCI subleases them.

[Clarea]

I'm not even sure the agents at check in even work for directly RCI as I once was talking to one and she told me she checked in a ship from a different cruise line yesterday (Can't remember which one) and in wasn't an RCL company. I think they may work for the Port and RCI subleases them.

You are correct, the check-in agents don't work directly for Royal.

[powelweb]

I'm wondering if she and her DH may have have been having a conversation at the check in counter about her condition that they check-in clerk overheard which led to the pregnancy question.

[Homosassa]

Something prompted the agent to ask the question. Once asked and answered, the rules that kick in.

 

And not all women show a baby bump until later in the pregnancy. It is characteristic of the women in my family that we carry so far up and back, that maternity clothes are not needed (just a looser fit) and people just assume that we are gaining weight and not pregnant.

 

On the other hand, I love answering yes to the question when asked before a medical procedure. It usually takes the person asking a moment, a double take and then laughing when they realized I am obviously well past child bearing age.

[Big_G]

I'm wondering if she and her DH may have have been having a conversation at the check in counter about her condition that they check-in clerk overheard which led to the pregnancy question.

 

...or maybe that was the answer when asked, "Are we celebrating anything?" We'll never know the whole story.

[PuterMonkey]

Exactly. I'd still like to know why the ship's medical staff couldn't see her.

 

To properly date a pregnancy you need ultrasound equipment and special training. A blood/urine test will only tell you yes or no. Even though there is an obvious difference on ultrasound between a 6 week and 24 week fetus, the odds of the staff having the right training is incredibly low. And again, where do you draw the cutoffs? You can't just take the woman on her word for dating, because then you'd have to take everyone's. It's impossible not to have a blanket policy here.

 

The real question is why even ask, if you aren't asking every woman. My only guess is the poor lady was unfortunate enough to have some serious early bloating or was heavy in the wrong spot to start with.

[Marleycruiser]

I wasn't going to comment till I read this ridiculous post. To the person just taking the test that morning, I have no problem lying in this case. I'll get flamed for that. My daughter found out she was pregnant 2 weeks before her NCL cruise and had a note from her doctor as she read the rules, but she didn't look it. The only reason she took the test before the cruise was to know whether she could drink or not. IF your visibly pregnant, know the rules and be prepared.

 

Bill from Ohio - I don't mean to get into a pissing match with you but your point is exactly the point I was trying to make. The woman did not look pregnant as she was only 2 weeks pregnant. The policy refers to a 24 week policy, which in this example, is no where near how far along she was pregnant for. You talk about following the rules but in your post you talk about deceiving RCL and breaking the rules by not telling the truth if you found out you were pregnant.

 

RCL has to watch out for its best interest and as previously stated, that is totally understandable as it seems this great country has allowed the scum of the earth to benefit from lawsuits with no merit (referring to cases where companies settle out of court because it is cheaper to do so even though they know they will win); however, in this case where there is a woman that is two weeks pregnant (and I do not know anyone that is "showing" at that point). She should not be required to give a doctors note. Furthermore, if you ask one woman, you should ask all women, and I stand by my opinion with the Agent handling this situation poorly.

[Paulxyz2004]

That is totally ridiculous on RCl's part. RCL cheerleaders stand down from this particular situation.

 

 

What a ridiculous post:eek:

 

So just because people might have a different view on this than you a)they are automatically Cheerleaders and b) it´s you to decide that they Need to shut up because they don´t Support your Point of view?

 

Sorry, but unless you are the owner, admin or mod of this board you are not the one to tell me what I can post.

 

Rules are the rules. No one besides the Family and the port Agents knows what happened. It´s irrelevatn why the question came up. It was asked and answered and that´s where the clearly stated rules set in.

 

BTW I will never be in the Situation myself or with Family and I knew about the rule.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Paulxyz2004

[S.A.M.J.R.]

To properly date a pregnancy you need ultrasound equipment and special training. A blood/urine test will only tell you yes or no. Even though there is an obvious difference on ultrasound between a 6 week and 24 week fetus, the odds of the staff having the right training is incredibly low. And again, where do you draw the cutoffs? You can't just take the woman on her word for dating, because then you'd have to take everyone's. It's impossible not to have a blanket policy here.

 

The real question is why even ask, if you aren't asking every woman. My only guess is the poor lady was unfortunate enough to have some serious early bloating or was heavy in the wrong spot to start with.

The reason I mention seeing the medical staff is to find out in confidence what the situation is.

 

RCI has already declared a cutoff... anyone past the 24th week (or will hit the 24th week during the cruise) can't cruise.

 

So you bring the family into an exam room and ask "have you had a doctor confirm the pregnancy?" "how far along are you?" "what is your pregnancy history?" Yes, a guest may lie, but they may lie when asked "is it possible you're pregnant?" Then the medical staff needs to make a judgement call.

[exarkkun]

Oh, I'd totally lie. After all, there's also a chance it could be a fluke. But yeah, I'd lie through my teeth to get onboard at that early in the game. I'd just teetotal for the cruise just to be on the safe side.

[kevinsgirl88]

I'm with RCI on this one. They asked me when I was checking in... and to the person that said they can't tell if its a high risk pregnancy at 12 weeks yes they can when I was 10 weeks preg they deemed me a high risk... sadly I lost the pregnancy couple of weeks later.

 

Sent from my MB886 using Forums mobile app

[amster65]

Gee, I was never able to afford a cruise when I was raising a family, but I guess times are different, that was in the seventies.

[OCruisers]

Rather amazed they ask her. What if she had just been fat?

Is this now a standard question to all women of childbearing age? :confused:

LuLu

[life_dizzy]

I can't decide if I would have been a smart aleck and say:

"No, but the faster I can get on this ship, the faster I can get that way!!"

 

OR if I would have pulled a total drama queen and started crying saying she called me fat. I can't help it...I guess I can be a bit dramatic. ;)

 

I agree that rules are rules, and the couple probably should have known since they have sailed before several times...But it sounds like the lady at the counter just didn't use her common sense. I believe Royal was in the wrong by not accepting the note that she DID so hastily provide, in order to get on the ship in time. There are always 3 sides to every story though...

[AlexanderBeetle]

This isn't even a story. The policy is in place. We haven't cruised Royal yet but on our previous Disney cruise we were going through our documentation and found out my wife needed a note and she was only 10 weeks along. We quickly got our midwife to write one up for us. When we were at the port, she was asked and she provided her note and all was well.

 

This is an unfortunate situation being made to sound like it was discrimination when it wasn't.

[Starry Eyes]

What about a woman who takes a pregnancy test the morning of departure? Is she supposed to have a doctor's note? They're going to have to rethink how this policy is worded and implemented.

 

If you read further down the article, the woman was able to get a doctor's note - which RCCL did not accept. This is definitely a black eye for the cruise line.

Well, if she wanted to sail, it would not be wise to take the test in the morning before boarding. As she would be sailing, she would not be available to see her doctor to confirm the OTC test result, etc. Of course, she could board the ship with the unused test kit in her bag, then take the test aboard (not my idea of a sail away celebration, I admit). That way if positive she could curtail her alcohol consumption if positive and, perhaps, try again if negative.

 

In this case, maybe that hasty doctors note did not really say that she was fit to sail. It could have said something else (she has an appointment, pregnancy not yet been confirmed by Doctor, etc); such things happen in rushed situations. Personally, I'd have told DH and sons to go ahead and board. I'd hussle to a clinic to get my "fit to travel" note then catch up with the ship as soon as I could. One person flying to Bahamas last minute is cheaper and easier to schedule than four.

[Ladysilver]

Rather amazed they ask her. What if she had just been fat?

Is this now a standard question to all women of childbearing age? :confused:

LuLu

 

 

I'm wondering the same thing. :confused:

[A&L_Ont]

Hopefully she will read the contract next time.

Edited July 24, 2014 by A&L_Ont